Elinand, also known as Elinard, was prince of Galilee from 1143 or 1144 to around 1149. His parentage is unknown. He succeeded William I of Bures who either had died, or been forced into exile. Elinand was one of the main supporters of Queen Melisende of Jerusalem. Mu'in ad-Din Unur, the ruler of Damascus, bribed him during the siege of Damascus in 1148, according to gossips spreading in the crusaders' camp.
| Elinand | |
|---|---|
| prince of Galilee | |
| Reign | 1143/44–1148/49 |
| Predecessor | William I of Bures |
| Successor | William II of Bures or Simon of Bures |
| Died | 1148/49 |
| Spouse | Ermengarde of Ibelin (?) |
| Issue | William II of Bures (?) Eschiva of Bures (?) |
| Father | Godfrey of Bures or Hosto of Fauquembergues (both uncertain) |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Origins
editAccording to a widespread scholarly theory, Elinand was related to William I of Bures, who received the Principality of Galilee from Baldwin II of Jerusalem in 1119 or 1120.[1] Historian Martin Rheinheimer associates Elinand with Elias, who was William I's nephew.[2] William I referred to Elias and his brother, William, as his heirs in 1126.[2] Rheinheimer also says, the brothers were the sons of William I's brother, Godfrey.[3] Godfrey was killed during a plundering raid in the spring of 1119.[4] Hans Eberhard Mayer refutes the association of Elinand with William I's nephew, emphasizing that the Biblical name, Elias, cannot be identical with the Germanic Elinand.[5] Historian Malcolm Barber identifies Elinand as William I's second son.[6]
Mayer underlines that nothing proves that Elinand was William I's kinsman.[7] Mayer also notes, Elinand's otherwise rare name is well-documented in the region of Saint-Omer and Fauquembergues in the 12th century.[8] He concludes that Elinand was most probably a member of the Saint-Omer family, and thus he was related to the second prince of Galilee, Hugh of Fauquembergues.[9] He tentatively identifies Elinand's father with Hosto of Fauquembergues, who was castellan of Saint-Omer in the late 1120s, although no document evidences that Hosto fathered children.[8]
Prince of Galilee
edit
The circumstances of Elinand's emergence to power are unknown.[10] Rheinheimer says that Elinand inherited the principality of Galilee (also known as the lordship of Tiberias) from William I in 1144.[2] Mayer argues that Elinand seized Galilee with the support of Queen Melisende of Jerusalem, who had forced William I into exile after the death of her husband, King Fulk.[2] Elinand became one of Melisende's main supporters.[6]
Imad ad-Din Zengi laid siege to Edessa in late November 1144.[11][12] Along with Manasses of Hierges and Philip of Milly, Eliland was appointed by Melisende to lead a relieve army to the town.[11][12] They did not reach Edessa, because its defenders surrendered before the end of the year.[11][12] Barber proposes that they most probably went to Antioch and participated in Raymond of Antioch's unsuccessful counter-offensive in early 1145.[12]
Eliland attended the assembly of the commanders of the Second Crusade at Acre on 24 June 1148.[13] The commanders decided to attack Damascus.[14] The siege of Damascus began on 23 July, but four days later the crusaders abandoned the siege and returned to the kingdom.[14] According to gossips which had started to spread among the crusaders during the siege, Mu'in ad-Din Unur, the ruler of Damascus, bribed Elinand.[15] Shortly thereafter, Elinand either died,[12] or forfeited Galilee.[13]
Family
editA royal charter referred to Ermengarde, a sister of Hugh of Ibelin, as the lady of Tiberias in 1155.[16] Rheinheimer, Sylvia Schein and other historians write that Ermengarde was Elinand's wife.[16][17] They also say that Elinand's successor, William II, and William's heir, Eschiva, were their children.[16][17] On the other hand, Mayer and Peter W. Edbury propose that Ermengarde of Ibelin was the wife of William I of Bures.[16][18] Mayer also says that Elinand was succeeded by William I's nephew, Simon of Bures.[19]
References
edit- ^ Mayer 1994, pp. 157–159.
- ^ a b c d Mayer 1994, p. 159.
- ^ Mayer 1994, p. 165.
- ^ Runciman 1989, p. 147.
- ^ Mayer 1994, p. 159 (note 14).
- ^ a b Barber 2012, p. 177.
- ^ Mayer 1994, pp. 158, 163.
- ^ a b Mayer 1994, p. 164.
- ^ Mayer 1994, pp. 163, 165.
- ^ Mayer 1994, p. 158.
- ^ a b c Lock 2006, p. 46.
- ^ a b c d e Barber 2012, p. 180.
- ^ a b Mayer 1994, p. 160.
- ^ a b Lock 2006, p. 49.
- ^ Runciman 1989, p. 283.
- ^ a b c d Mayer 1994, p. 162.
- ^ a b Schein 1994, p. 146.
- ^ Edbury 1997, p. 5.
- ^ Mayer 1994, pp. 160, 165.
Sources
edit- Barber, Malcolm (2012). The Crusader States. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-11312-9.
- Edbury, Peter W. (1997). John of Ibelin and the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Boydell Press. ISBN 978-0-85115-703-0.
- Lock, Peter (2006). The Routledge Companion to the Crusades. Routledge. ISBN 9-78-0-415-39312-6.
- Mayer, Hans Eberhard (1994). "The crusader principality of Galilee between Saint-Omer and Bures-sur-Yvette" (PDF). In Gyselen, R. (ed.). Itinéraires d'Orient: Hommages à Claude Cahen. Groupe pour l'Étude de la Civilisation du Moyen-orient. pp. 157–167. ISBN 978-2-9508266-0-2.
- Schein, Sylvia (1994). "Women in Medieval Colonial Society: The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem in the Twelfth Century". In Edgington, Susan B.; Lambert, Sarah (eds.). Gendering the Crusades. Columbia University Press. pp. 140–152. ISBN 0-231-12598-4.
- Runciman, Steven (1989). A History of the Crusades, Volume II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Frankish East, 1100-1187. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-06163-6.